What is Gout?

Gout occurs when the body produces high levels of uric acid (urate) due to a condition called hyperuricemia. This leads to the formation and deposition of urate monosodium crystals within soft tissues. This results in what we know as Gout.

Who are we?

Complete Injections is a highly specialised ultrasound guided injection service providing fast access to pain relieving injections. Book a consultation with us today by clicking the below.

Gout is incredibly common, affecting 1.4% of the population. It is 3 times more prevalent than rheumatoid arthritis.
Gout occurs when the body produces high levels of uric acid (urate) due to a condition called hyperuricemia. This leads to the formation and deposition of urate monosodium crystals within soft tissues. This results in what we know as Gout.

An episode of gout is triggered when serum urate concentration levels surpass 8.0mg/dL.
Tausche et al (2009)

What causes Gout?

Gout is a systemic rheumatological disease. Little is known about the exact cause of gout, however there are many associated risk factors. These include;

• Gender. Men are up to 9 times more susceptible to Gout. Pre-menopausal women are protected from gout by the hormone, oestrogen.
• A diet rich in purine such as red meat, wild game (Veal and dark) and offal.
• High levels of alcohol consumption (both beer and wine have been implicated)
• Increasing age
• Obesity
• Kidney failure
• Some prescription medications i.e. Thiazide
• Hereditary uric acid disorder however, this is relatively rare.

A Gout attack is typically triggered by a sudden increase in rich food or after consuming alcohol. An attack usually starts with acute pain in a single joint (often the big toe). In most cases, Gout will resolve by itself within a week. Unfortunately, if you suffer from an attack of Gout you have a 90% chance of further attacks over the subsequent 5 years.